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30 Months Old!

I walked into my daughters' room tonight, for what felt like the hundredth time, to reswaddle Audrey. Both girls had been struggling to fall asleep, each challenging thein their own way. Tired and frustrated, I hear my toddler sweetly say "Do you want a hamburger?".

I laughed. and kissed her on the forehead. "Yes, my dear... I would love a hamburger."

Today Clara 'turned' 30 months old. Or - in normal-people-speak - 2 'and a half' officially. It seemed as though the day she turned 2, her vocabulary started increasing exponentially. She has changed so rapidly in the past six months, and when I think about how much she has changed since the day she was born - only 30 months ago - it nearly blows my mind...

She started here...

Then only six months later... (I promise this is actually a picture of Clara - I had to double take, because it looks so much like Audrey does now...)

And by her first birthday she still didn't have any hair.

She didn't walk until she was nearly 18 months old.

And by her second birthday she was already a big sister!

Lately it seems as though I can't keep up. How quickly she catches on to things, how cleverly she sidesteps almost everything we tell her to do - often without us even noticing - and how much she remembers, is absolutely incredible to me. The greatest evidence of her growth lies in her conversation skills. I have people every day asking "How old is she...? Only 2?"

Today we brought Audrey in to her immunization appointment and Clara walked squarely up to the counter. The woman at the counter addressed her directly and asked her if she had brought 'her baby' to be immunized.

"I did" Clara said confidently. The woman then asked what her baby's name was. "Audrey". She replied and then asked. "Are you the lady?" I had informed her that a lady would be giving Audrey a needle. She then started rambling on to me about how she had been sick, and went to the hospital and got a needle. This all happened months ago, and she still seems to clearly remember it.

She is goofy and has an unbelievable amount of energy. She makes me laugh daily, and challenges me constantly as a parent. She routinely says the strangest things - most of which I forget only hours after she's said them, despite how insistent I am that I WILL remember this one...

She loves going on the swings at the park, but is still too scared to go down the slide.

She bosses everyone she knows around, but still takes a lot of time to get comfortable in large groups. Until she gets to know everyone - then she's suddenly the boss!

She still loves, loves, LOVES her sister, and despite all of our warnings: "Be careful Clara, be gentle Clara, don't pull on Audrey's arms Clara..." she still gets excited every time she sees her. She wants to be around her constantly, and is always telling us what Audrey does and does not want.

I'm slowly getting better at this 'Mom' thing, I think, and in the process I'm loving this crazy 2-year-old stage more and more. She drives me insane and I still sometimes want to shake her, but more and more she makes me love her so much it brings tears to my eyes - that emotional kind of love that doesn't necessarily go along with the practical kind of Mom-love that I have had for her since before she was born.